Todd Heitschmidt and Jerry Dieter were the top two vote-getters in preliminary results for the Marion City Council election Tuesday. Specific vote totals were:

Marion County Commission approved a bid from APAC-Kansas, Inc., Shears Division Friday for four road projects scheduled to begin May 15. The bid from APAC totals to $3,172,260. The largest project is 330th Road, from Meridian to K-15, which accounts for $1,009,836 of the total.

Kodi Panzer said one of the characteristics of a great runner is a devotion to preparation. She has already started packing her luggage for the Cedro Peak Ultra Marathon, April 7 in New Mexico.

The documentary “Florence, Kansas” by filmmaker Steve Lerner will make it to the big screen April 13 and 14 as a featured film in the 2012 Kansas City Film Fest. “Not very often does a little small town get notoriety unless it’s in a bad light, and it’s nice that this is in a good light,” Florence Historical Society President Judy Mills said. “I’m excited it will put Florence in another venue for people to see our town.”

Carolan McFarland told her group of female students Saturday at Butler Community College’s free class day that yoga was adaptable; anyone can do it. With about 20 years of experience, she has witnessed this fact. When she taught physical education in Kansas City, she would use yoga positions for elementary school students.

It was an emotional family history and a deep magnetic pull that drew Brian Stucky of Goessel into the search for 17 children, whose gravesites were lost 138 years ago and found by him recently near Peabody. “I vividly remember my grandmother telling us her story, with tears in her eyes, how Freni, her baby sister, died and she did not know where she was buried,” Stucky said. “She spent many years looking for her, as did the relatives of the other children. One day I figured I could help and that is why I became involved.”

The Fred Harvey Community Garden in Florence got good news recently to start its second year. The garden received a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation through Kansas State University of $4,104 to put in a garden shed, arbor, benches, raised beds, compost bins, rain barrel, and to purchase hoses, organizer Phoebe Janzen announced Thursday.

Kevin Tidwell, formerly of Hillsboro and now living in rural Lincolnville, is the head mechanic at Shields Auto Service and Supply in Lincolnville. Tidwell began working there in September, doing small jobs. He now mainly does engine and transmission jobs.

Starting in about 1998, major car manufacturers made the switch to heavily computerizing engine tuning, and Stan Williams of Marion believes it was a change for the better. Fine-tuning an engine using a computer can take a lot of time and a lot of work, but it is much more customizable than in the past.

Bruce Serene started racing cars when he was 13-years-old in Herington. That interest developed over the years into a successful business of rebuilding engines, and he depends on skills learned on the job to stay on top of the workload at his Hillsboro shop. “To be good at racing you have to be a great multi-tasker,” Serene said. “Racers make split second decisions and they have to be good ones, or it’s over.”

Marcel Wenceslaus Benda, 79, of Pilsen died March 28, at St. Luke Hospital in Marion. He was born Oct. 5, 1932, near Pilsen to William J. and Lillian Bina Benda. He attended Pilsen Grade School and graduated from Lincolnville High School. He was a farmer and stockman and lived in the Pilsen community most of his life.

Robert “Bob” Cordts, 82, of Hillsboro died March 28, 2012, at Parkside Homes in Hillsboro. He was born March 21, 1930, in Chicago, Ill., to William and Thelma (Weaver) Cordts. He was a bookkeeper.

Geraldine Frick, 93, of Durham died April 1, 2012, in Enterprise. She was born Jan. 31, 1919, in Durham to Henry and Mattie Grant (Garrett) Christiansen. She was a homemaker. She married Melvin Frick on May 25, 1940, in Durham. He preceded her in death in 1996.

Boyd Victor Higgins Jr. was born on a farm in Marion County, Kan., on Dec. 20, 1925, the son of Boyd Sr. and Hazel Jones Higgins. He was a graduate of Marion (Kan.) High School and Kansas State Teachers College at Emporia, Kan., he went on to serve in the U.S. Marine Corp from 1944 to 1946 with the 3rd Marine Division in the Pacific Theater including Iwo Jima and China.

Don D. Klein, 67, of Tampa, died March 27, 2012, in rural Tampa. He was born April 10, 1944, in Hillsboro to Leonard Francis and Elma (Hamm) Klein. He was a farmer. He married Sharon Pschigoda on May 8, 1965, in Durham. She survives of the home.

Judy E. Schroeder, 73, of Hillsboro died April 1, 2012, in Marion. She was born Sept. 4, 1938, in Goessel to Jake and Bertha (Epp) Ratzlaff. She was a nurse at Salem Hospital.

William E. Ubben Jr., 76, died March 28, 2012, at St. Luke Hospital in Marion. He had been a Lincolnville resident the past 20 years. He was born Nov. 27, 1935, at Marion to William C. and Mable Brown Ubben. He was a 1954 graduate of Marion High School, served in the U.S. Air Force in the 1950s, and was a member of the American Legion.

Judith Ann Wiens, 79, of Wichita died March 22, 2012, at Lakepoint in Wichita. She was born Feb. 24, 1933, in Corn, Okla., to H.R. and Barbara (Kleinsasser) Wiens. She was an aide in pediatrics.

Marion City Council members learned Monday that the renewal rate for the city’s property, liability, and umbrella insurance policies has decreased, primarily as a result of fewer claims. Alex Case of Case and Son Insurance presented the good news to the council.

Mayor Barb Kaiser administered the oath of office to Mark Pagenkopf Jr. Monday as a new Lincolnville City Council member. He will serve two years to finish out the term of Dennis Burch, who recently resigned. The council approved Annette Nienstadt’s application for a liquor license. She has purchased the liquor store from the Dan Loves. Nienstedt lives in Antelope.

“We don’t care if you’re generating trash or not,” Deputy County Clerk Tina Spencer said Friday. “You’re paying for the transfer station like you’re paying for roads.” Spencer was summarizing the requests of Environmental Health Director Tonya Richards and Transfer Station director Rollin Schmidt written into a draft of the county’s solid waste resolution presented to the Marion County Commission. The draft, as written would eliminate the appeals process that allows seasonal residents and residents who otherwise do not generate trash to avoid the transfer station fee.

Sunday evening I decided to try something I hadn’t done in years, probably not since cross-country season my senior year of high school. I went for a walk out in the country. I started my house and walked the back roads out to Marion County Park and Lake, and back home again. As near as I could figure, it was a walk of about five miles.

There are quite possibly hundreds if not thousands of books written on the topic of leadership. There are books for people in the business world, there are books for people in the academic world, and there are of course books for people in ministry. Over the course of my years as a pastor, I have accumulated a few books on leadership. This column will of course come out after our city elections have occurred. Hopefully the decisions we have made will result in bold and creative leadership for the future of our town.

ANOTHER DAY IN THE COUNTRY:

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:

LETTERS:

A special Easter community hymn sing will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday at Ebenfeld Mennonite Brethren Church, 1498 Kanza Road, rural Hillsboro. The service will include singing, prayer, and scripture reading. Those attending will have the opportunity to select favorite hymns to sing. The theme will be “The Four Empty Things of Easter.” Steve Vincent will be the leader. Choral music will be provided by Parkside Voices.

Financial adviser Robert Wall will present a seminar about preparing for the costs of long-term care 10 to 11 a.m. April 14 and 7 to 8 p.m. April 17 at the Everence office, 105 S. Main St., Hillsboro. The seminar will include information about current trends, costs, and the effect of long-term care insurance. Other topics include the interaction between government programs and long-term care insurance, who needs long-term care insurance, coverage options, and how it can affect estate plans.

USDA food commodities will be available at Marion County senior centers on April 12. Each senior center will distribute goods according to the center’s own schedule.

The Emporia State University Kansas Small Business Development Center will have a small business consultant from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 25 at Butler Community College, Marion, 412 N. Second St., for one-on-one consultations. To schedule an appointment to discuss issues concerning an existing business or starting a new business, call (316) 218-6311.

A surface recycle of K-15 Highway began Monday. The project began at the Marion and Harvey County line, and will continue north to the K-15 and U.S. 56 junction, a distance of eleven miles. The top 2 inches of asphalt will be removed, mixed in with new oil and emollients, and then laid back down on the roadway. This will be followed with a chip seal.

The Bureau of Land Management will have an all-day public tour of two wild horse long-term holding pastures June 9 at El Dorado. The free tour will give the public an opportunity to observe wild horses roaming in a pastoral setting across thousands of acres from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Marion City Library will present “Railroads in Kansas,” a free presentation and discussion by William S. Worley, at 7 p.m. April 13 at the library, 101 Library St., Marion. The library itself is a restored and renovated 1912 Santa Fe Railroad depot. The event is in conjunction with the depot’s 100th birthday this year.

The Marion County Park and Lake Chat and Dine Club will have its first potluck dinner of the year at 6:30 p.m. April 14. Park and Lake Superintendent Steve Hudson will update the group on activities at the lake. Organizers encourage everyone to bring a guest for an evening of food and fellowship.

The annual Marion community Easter egg hunt is Saturday morning at Brooker Central Park in Marion. The Easter egg hunt is divided into three age divisions: 2- and 3-year-olds will hunt for eggs starting at 10:30 a.m., 4-and 5-year-olds begin at 10:36 a.m.; and 6-, 7-, and 8-year-olds will start hunting for eggs at 10:46 a.m.

It was not love at first sight for Alicia Maloney when she saw Marion High School’s contrabass clarinet. “It looks like a big clarinet,” she scoffed.

James William Miesse American Legion Post 22 of Marion will send six Marion High School students to participate in Boys State this summer, June 3 through 9 at Kansas State University in Manhattan. This year’s participants from Marion are Wiley Lundy, son of William and Michele Lundy; Ethan Hett, son of David and Diane Hett; Eric Regnier, son of Doug and Michele Regnier, Isaac Baldwin, son of Daniel and Laura Baldwin, Dylan Goebel, son of Brice and Valerie Goebel, and Spencer Fugitt, son of Penny Antoszyk.

Jessic Vogel of Marion, a senior instrumental performance major at Washburn University, performed as a member of the Washburn Wind Ensemble at the Collegiate Band Directors National Association Southwestern Division Conference, Thursday through Saturday in San Antonio, Texas. Ensembles from 23 universities entered the competition for the honor to perform, and the Washburn group was one of seven to earn the distinction.

Marion High School instrumental musicians and singers performed at the Regional Music Festival on Saturday at Tabor College in Hillsboro. Every performer and ensemble received a “I” or “II” Rating

Butler Community College in El Dorado announced the President’s and Dean’s honor rolls for the fall 2011 semester. Students qualifying for the President’s Honor Roll achieved between a 4.0 and 3.5 grade point average; Dean’s List students earned between 3.49 and 3.0 GPA. President’s Honor Roll

The Tabor College theater department will produce two shows of “Another Antigone” April 26 and 28, directed by Judy Harder. The play features Tabor College English professor Chris Dick as professor Henry Harper, Ashley Bird as Judy Miller, Nolan Dirks as David Appleton, and Maria Loewen as Diana Eberhart.

Washburn University student Riley Ross of Marion will present his research on “Synthesis of the Precursors of Expanded Oxophlorins” at the Washburn Apeiron: A Forum of Student Research, Scholarship, and Creativity on April 20 on the Washburn campus in Topeka. Ross is a senior studying chemistry.

One inning, 5 runs. It gave the Marion High School softball team a lead they held onto tenaciously Friday against Moundridge, until a seventh-inning rally pushed the Lady Wildcats to a 6-5 comeback victory. Offense has been hard to come by for the Lady Warriors, who are 0-4 on the season after dropping both games against Moundridge, the first by a score of 0-10. Their first-inning 5-run blitz in the second game was the first time Marion has been able to string together hits to push across runs, and Marion head coach Chad Adkins said it was a welcome sign of growth for his inexperienced team.

When Marion High School baseball player Ethan Hett laced a screaming line drive Friday at Moundrigde pitcher Garrett Higgins, a collective gasp went up from the crowd at Marion baseball field as it struck Higgins in the leg. That Higgins was able to shake it off and return to the mound may have been due to the new bats in use this season, something Marion showed they are adapting to in scoring 5-3 and 6-4 wins over the visiting Railers.

Marion High School senior Mikael Antoszyk laid claim Saturday to his fourth state power-lifting championship at the Class 3A Kansas State Power-lifting Championships at Marion Middle School Gym. Antoszyk took first place in the 132-lb. division, where he recorded the top lifts of 215 lbs. in bench press, 335 in squat, and 235 in clean. His total weight lifted of 785 lbs. was 90 more than his closest rival, and would have beaten the winner of the 140-lb. division as well.

Roller skating at the Florence gymnasium has been postponed until June, Mayor Mary Shipman said. Spring Fling was scheduled for April 28 and the annual alumni banquet was scheduled for May 26, with both events taking place in the gym on a previous roller skating night. Shipman said those events took precedence over roller skating. Former Florence Recreation Director Holly Periello said she tried to convince Florence City Council to have roller skating and the other event simultaneously. She said the organizations that scheduled other events did not consult with her.